Three local law enforcement agencies recently were awarded Local Law Enforcement Block Grants from Ohio's Office of Criminal Justice Services.

The Athens Police Department received $9,000, the Athens County Sheriff's Department was awarded $7,000 and the Nelsonville Police Department received $5,000 in grant money to help fund overtime pay for officers, according to a release from Ohio Rep. Larry Householder, R-Glenford. The grants were three of 132 awarded across the state.

"(The grant) was designed to supplant the normal service - to put more officers on the street, primarily directed toward the enforcement of the drug laws," Sheriff David Redecker said.

Communities from 45 counties in Ohio were eligible for funding from the OCJS, and the awards were based on the number of full-time, sworn law enforcement officers in an agency, according to a news release from the OCJS.

"We have a lot of overtime here," said Michael Perez, Nelsonville's acting police chief. "We'll use it for overtime pay, for drug operations and other traffic violations - routine operations."

The need for the grants came as budgets have felt the squeeze for extra patrol and drug officers. The NPD spent $48,960 in 1998 for overtime pay for officers, not including dispatchers.

"We're seeing 160 to 170 hours every two weeks. This last (pay period), we saw 60 hours," Perez said.

This grant will ensure officers and deputies have enough funds to protect Ohio's citizens.

"It is essential that our law enforcement officers be provided the necessary resources to carry out their mission," Householder said in his news release. "The duty of serving and protecting our citizens cannot always be accomplished in a standard work week, so it is important that programs like this exist to help fund compensation for those overtime hours."

Last year, the APD received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to use for equipment, said Jimmy Stewart, Athens city auditor. Because they were not awarded that grant again this year, they were able to apply for the state-awarded grant.

He said three agencies receiving the grants is better than one agency being awarded the federal grant. The federal grant being awarded to one agency will block all state grant opportunities for other agencies in the county.

Stewart said the grant will be beneficial to the APD as the department incurs significant amounts of work at different times of the year, including weekends in April, May and June and also on Halloween.